Nope, just the state. What I love about this girl is that she's gracious to her opponents and has fun on the court; however, she is relentless while smiling. Her opponents almost universally like her even as she makes short work of them. Here is her scorecard starting in district tourney through the state championship:That's so awesome! Are there nationals?
Also, if you haven't heard, all the rides at DHS are moving to Tier 1; all that will be left as Tier 2 are shows. Not a fan.
In Disney/Lodge news, I keep seeing the topic of the bike path to FW coming up on various sites. I hate breaking the bad news to them--mostly runners--that there is no actual place to run at WL now except in a loop on the sidewalks at the resort. Remember when Wilderness Lodge was synonymous with actual "wilderness?" Disney has been slowly eroding that aspect of WL for some time, and with the advent of Reflections, I only see the situation worsening. Also, if you haven't heard, all the rides at DHS are moving to Tier 1; all that will be left as Tier 2 are shows. Not a fan.
And on that rosy note, have a great weekend, Groupies!
I did see this, and it is really undermining the entire benefit of the FP+ system. Basically, when it started, the FP+ allowed us to book 3 of our favorite attractions for a park for a day. And the Tier 1 was just the "extra hot" attraction like Toy Story Mania or Rock n Roller Coaster.
I had actually been foolish enough to hope that the Star Wars land would knock some of the current rides down to Tier 2. I can certainly see where the new rides like Avatar Flight of Passage or any of the Star Wars rides would warrant a Tier 1 designation. For me, they are almost discouraging anyone from going to DHS in the future. Also not a fan.
It does seem as though thought was not put into the tier bit at DHS. Although, this might be a way to entice folk to buy those Concierge level FastPasses which don't take into account tier, or park. Maybe they're looking at opening those up to more folk than just club level. This is where I put my bet. Modern Disney park management cannot resist the idea of creating more pay to play services.
Did anyone else see the news about the new Epcot "Brazil" pavilion? Not sure if it's old news or not. My daughter sent it to me the other day.
If you know anything about Paris at all, please share. I'll probably break down and start another thread on the boards, but you all are my people.
For those who hadn't seen it: Brazil Pavilion coming to EPCOT in 2022
That's the key term--monetize. Disney has to make a buck (because they barely turn a profit anymore). On another forum, the suggestion was made that they're doing this to drive people to the shows which hold more numbers in order to quell crowding at SWGE. I only buy that a little. It would also help to keep a few actual rides as Tier 2, as well, but they're not doing that. So, my prediction is that within a year of SWGE opening, Disney will provide a sweeping change to the FP system to encourage people to pay for premium FPs.By the way, here's the link to the story about FastPass tier changes at DHS:
FastPass Tiers Changing at DHS
I agree that longer term Disney will look to monetize the FP+ system as Universal has done. It must kill them to sit around that table and think "how did we ever make FastPass a FREE system?"
Am I bad that my first thought was to wonder why they had to put it there, right at the train garden? Yes, I'd rather have a train garden than a Pavilion that doesn't sound like it's going to have an attraction or ride.
Too funny! Not sure what other real estate is available, but I do think Brazil was a good choice since South America is unrepresented at EPCOT. And of course, it will give many tour groups a chance to visit home!
On the other hand, I can see a new restaurant along the lines of Texas de Brazil would be a really big hit.
Too funny! Not sure what other real estate is available, but I do think Brazil was a good choice since South America is unrepresented at EPCOT. And of course, it will give many tour groups a chance to visit home!
I guess it will be like Japan or Italy where they just have some entertainment? Weird that they would add another attraction at France but have nothing at other countries.
On the other hand, I can see a new restaurant along the lines of Texas de Brazil would be a really big hit.
I think the issue with the plots 3 & 2 is they have been converted as show staging for both Epcot Forever and the new permanent show (quite a bit of construction was done for those shows in that area). I think that is what you were referring to there. Also 6 no longer works because of the France expansion.There actually are several locations still available. The area on the otherside of Germany or the one next to that by the Outpost isn't quite as busy....and doesn't have the train garden. But, as usual, Disney did not ask me my opinion.
Here's a map done by Yesterland:
View attachment 407200
I hadn't seen the news about the HS fast passes. That is awful. I hate Epcot's system too. You are forced to get FP's for things you don't even want to do.
Did anyone else see the news about the new Epcot "Brazil" pavilion? Not sure if it's old news or not. My daughter sent it to me the other day.
The loss of the service road between Fort Wilderness and the Lodge are making me rethink my February reservation. After the race last year, it took the disney bus almost an hour to get us back to the resort after the race. I'm not sure if the race caused a lot of closures and that was the problem or what? There were no alternate roads for the bus to take. I'm almost tempted to change reservations at the 7 month mark to another resort. Especially now that we are doing the challenge, we'll have to deal with it two mornings in a row. If we changed, I'm not sure what we would do. I guess a monorail resort would be helpful, or even SSR would be going in the opposite direction away from the race path. I just hate to give up my lodge reservation.
Being the obsessive planner that I am, a "new" trip may have sprung up in the last week. DD20 will be doing study abroad in the Spring of 2020 in Greece. My girls happened to notice that there is an Ironman race in Greece in April of 2020. Suddenly, I think we may be headed there over my spring break (plus some extra days). Of course the girls knew if they convinced their Dad by dangling this race in front of him, that we might actually sell him on this idea. Needless to say, we may actually fly into London or Paris (so much cheaper than Athens), then take a European flight from there to Athens. Well if we will be anywhere near Paris, I must go to Disneyland. Anyone have any recent experience with Disneyland Paris. I've read several threads on using points there, but many are old and it seems that passes aren't included anymore. If you know anything about Paris at all, please share. I'll probably break down and start another thread on the boards, but you all are my people.
Thank you so much! Where would I look for French school vacations? Will 2 days be enough to see both parks? The consensus that I have read seems to be to not use points. We could possibly go March 29-31, or April 6-8. It looks like they haven't even opened the April dates for booking yet.I am in Germany and DLP is my local park. So, I know plenty. But I have never used points there. It just does not seem to be worth it. The Disney hotels are all very expensive and some also rather basic. I still like them, but don’t expect the Sequoia Lodge for example to have the same standard as the WL. Rooms are smaller, service is more basic.
Recently we found decent room only rates on Expedia. Through Disney they force packages on you. However, you would need tickets anyway.
Midweek always is less crowded than weekends. But make sure to check for French school vacation and avoid those times.
I am happy to help with any questions!
Thank you so much! Where would I look for French school vacations? Will 2 days be enough to see both parks? The consensus that I have read seems to be to not use points. We could possibly go March 29-31, or April 6-8. It looks like they haven't even opened the April dates for booking yet.